Reportage

La Puna – The High Desert in South America

In the South American Puna, the high desert of the Andes mountains, with altitudes of 4,000 m and more above sea level, you are struck by the silence in the immeasurable vastness. The Puna is a unique ecosystem with large mineral and gold deposits; it resembles the surface of Mars or the Moon in places, its salt lakes contain bacteriological life, and the conditions are often similar to those which prevailed when our planet was young. This makes the Puna extremely important for research and for lithium mining to satisfy the needs of our everyday life, which is anything but silent and is never standing still. One can only hope that the immense beauty and serenity of the Puna will remain unspoiled.